The Best Way To Manage Stress For Your Personality Type

Americans are in serious need of a vacation (salt cave date, anyone?). According to the American Psychological Association, 80 percent of Americans experienced symptoms related to stress—such as headaches, feeling overwhelmed or feeling depressed—in the past year. Whether it’s work, money or family issues keeping you up at night, it’s clear that the daily grind can have a serious effect on your health.

But curing stress isn’t as easy as clicking your heels and saying “work-life balance” three times (if it was, we’d all be as happy as Norwegians). Everyone handles pressure differently, and certain personalities might be more prone to anxiety, obsessive rumination or rigid thinking. But if you know your Myers-Briggs type (if you don’t, read this and come back), you may be one step closer to a restful mind and nights of sound sleeping.

THE GUARDIANS

ISTJ: Learn from Your Past

You tend to have a keen memory, which totally comes in handy in your cardio dance class—less so when you’re confronted with a scenario that’s caused you stress in the past. When this happens, you tend to dwell on those old feelings of sadness, despair and frustration. Recalling a past problem can be a great tool, but only if you use that memory to learn from your mistakes and handle things differently this time around.

ISFJ: Talk to Someone You Trust

You tend to work yourself up by overanalyzing things you have no control over—why is your friend acting distant? Is it something you said? To snap yourself out of your cycle of self-doubt, you need someone else’s perspective. Open up to a person you fully and completely trust. Getting feedback will help you understand exactly what’s bothering you and whether there’s anything you can do to fix it.

ESFJ: Practice Self-Care

You have a tendency to people-please without stopping to think about what’s fair and healthy for yourself. Sometimes, you can become so focused on making others happy that you start to think you can always do more. In reality, you’re stretched too thin already. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s often a time to step back and consider your actions. First, try giving yourself some space and focus on self-care rituals like meditation, healthy eating and exercise. If you’re still feeling stressed, consider your relationships. If anyone in your life is asking too much of you—and returning very little support—it could be time to see less of them. To give back to others, you need to keep your own energy tank full.

ESTJ: Pump the Brakes

Usually, you’re great at acting rationally. When you’re pulled in too many directions … not so much. Whether you’re trying to work on too many projects at once or spending every night of the week at a new exercise class/networking event/date, your full schedule can make you feel overstimulated and unproductive. In order to calm down, you need to stop and consider: What time-management methods have worked for you in the past? What are your priorities right now? These two questions should help you figure out how you should organize your to-do list to get things done as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Head over to Well+Good to learn the best stress-management tactics for your Myers-Briggs personality type.